Desperate Times
by Shauny88
Summary: Cerberus is up to something. Shepard has been asked to infiltrate and find out what they are up to ... what he finds seems impossible but maybe the only way to stop Cerberus and the Reapers...
1. Chapter 1

This story will have scenes of slight gay suggestions, if you are offended by such material, please do not read! This story might include spoilers of the games, but I promise nothing major!

This story also adds characters outside the Mass Effect world (going into their past, our present). If this is a problem I'm sorry. It's just the way my imagination works!

Anyway if you're still reading please enjoy :).

Date: Febuary 23rd 2186.

Mission: Obtain top secret data at a Ceberus Facility.

"What's our ETA Joker?" Commander Shepard asked. He was anxious to get this mission over with, as it was caught by Specilist Traynor that the Illusive Man had visited this station ... in person. Shepard knew he only did that for a VERY good or bad reason.

"2 Minutes Commander." Joker was deep in concentration flying the Normandy since he was the best pilot to ever fly amongst the stars. He didn't want to over shoot the target and be ridiculed for days.

"Good work Joker. Garrus, EDI and Kaidan. Meet me at the shuttle. We are the infiltration team on this mission".

All three were waiting at the shuttle bay for him when he arrived.

"Commander, I have Admiral Hackett on Holo he wants an update."

"Tell the Admiral that we are on schedule and will arrive momentarily and are prepared."

"Aye, Aye Sir and good luck." The Normandy exited FTL and they all felt the deceleration.

"Looks like the welcome party got off to a great start without us." Kaidan informed them as the fire fight outside raged on.

"Oh, and I was so looking forward to Ceberus hospitality." Garrus joked, which relieved the tension a bit and made the crew smile.

"Alright people, let's go and see what Cerberus is up to this time." Shepard was becoming quite the expert on raiding these types of facilities, and this was his third in about a month. Some of the tech they collected turned out to be quite useful in the end, but most had to be erased as the price of using it hardly seemed worth it.

"We're approaching shuttle lanch zone commander." Joker was obviously in his element dodging fire, sounding like a little boy with his favourite toy car.

"Ok team this is it. EDI you'll secure the nearest console that can access the info we need, whilst me, Kaidan and Garrus scout out the area. Understood?"

EDI was the first to respond."Yes Shepard. But I doubt Cerberus have a console so close to the shuttle bay. We may need to locate one of the laboratories first and go from there."

Shepard nodded in agreement.

"Shuttle launching." came the voice of the pilot Cortez and they were soon heading towards the station.

Since Cerberus was too busy fighting part of the Alliance First Fleet, they didn't realise they had sent a shuttle into the station. As soon as they landed they were met by light resistance which was taken out with ease by Shepard's skills, Kaidan's biotics and Garrus' accurate shots with a sniper rifle.

"Shepard it seems they have thrown most of there forces into the defence of the station from the fleet."

Shepard had a look round and saw, as usual, that she was right due to the lack of bodies in the cargo hold.

"Well that makes our job a little easier doesn't it?" Kaidan asked.

"That is unlikely." EDI responded. "They still have a sizable amount of people on board. This area must be a low priority, the labratories on the upper levels will significantly more protection."

Garrus came over, reloading his gun with some ammo he had found on one of his targets. "Oh wel, I'll have to put the picnic on hold for now. But I'll keep hold of it just in case."

All four of them started to move out into the hallway, where there was no one on patrol.

"Which way EDI?" Shepard asked.

EDI quickly checked her Omni tool and pointed to the left. They all followed Shepards lead, keeping chatter to a minimum. EDI eventually stopped.

"Shepard I have found a console U can use in the next hallway. I detect five life signs." Shepard looked at his team and they gave him the nod to let him know that they were ready.

Shepard had Garrus shoot the first one with his sniper rifle to cause confusion to the rest, which made them easy kills.

"This is too easy Shepard. Where's the challenge?" Garrus said in his sarcastic offhand way.

All Shepard could do was roll his eyes at the remark and they moved into one of the labs where EDI began scanning through data.

"Security breach in the lower laboratory."

"EDI whats going on?" Shepard asked in a worried tone.

"There was a hiden security protocol that was designed if I was to interface with the research. The data is being erased and I am currently trying to halt the process. Cerberus forces are. incoming, however, I must keep working here. I advise finding cover, there are incoming hostiles from all directions."

"Can you slow them down EDI? Seal doors and the like?"

"I'm afraid not Shepard. Saving the data is taking up all of my process power and I can't spare any to do anything else for the moment".

Shepard moved out of the lab and was checking the perimeter when an elevator of mercenaries stepped out and opened fire.

Quick to take cover behide a crate, he threw a grenade which took out three of the five, and the other two fell shortly after Shepard shot one in the head, and the other in the chest.

Whilst he was aware more people were coming his way, Shepard couldn't resist shouting a sarcastic comment to Garrus.

"This more what you were after Garrus?"

"Shepard, let's just say the picnic is definitely off this trip," was the smart response he got.

Just then another seven men came around the corner, and took up defensive positions around Shepard. It took a while to take them down but eventually Shepard was finished with the second wave.

"Kaidan how you holding up?" he asked over his earpiece, knowing using biotics in fire fights such as there often triggered migraines.

"I'm alright at the moment Commander, but I'll have a migraine for sure when this is over."

"Try not to over do it Major, we need that head in one piece."

"Copy that Commander, AHH SH-" The next thing that was heard was a huge explosion.

"Kaidan? Kaidan respond!"

"I'm alright Shepard. It seems that someone brought a rocket launcher."

"What happened?"

"It kind of blew up in his face... literally."

"Ahhh, I hate it when that happens." Garrus chimed in.

"EDI status report!" Shepard barked over the comm.

"I have saved most of the data to my core on the Normandy. I suggest we leave immediately."

"Why's that EDI?"

"The shuttles are breaking off from the first fleet and are heading back to the station. If we delay any longer, we will not be able to make our escape."

"Understood EDI, grab what you can and get out of there. Cortez! Prepare the shuttle, we are inbound and need a quick evac. Kaidan, Garrus! Fall back to the lab, we have hostile shuttles inbound and we need to get clear from the station ASAP."

"Acknowledged Commander," came the reply "En route."

They made haste to the cargo bay they had landed in previously, where Cortez was ready for take off as soon as they were on board. They flew out the hanger doors where they were met with a few shuttles firing at them, but these were easily avoided by the Cortez.

"Take us back to the Normandy Cortez."

"Aye aye sir, we'll be there momentarily."

They all sat down on the few chairs in the back of the shuttle as it headed towards the Normandy, glad to have made it out alive.

"What do we have EDI?" Shepard inquired.

"Shepard it is hard to describe what information has been gathered from the facility at the moment. I am still cracking algorithms and ciphers. This will take some time."

"OK let me know as soon as you have something."

With that Shepard gave into his exhaustion and went up to his cabin to try get some rest. But the nightmare of that child was tormenting him so much that he decided to give up on sleep.

There was a knock at his door. "it's open."

EDI came into the room. "I have an update for you Shepard about what the facility was primarily tasked with."

"Alright EDI, let's hear it."

"It seems that the project is called 'Redemption', and it is tasked with going back in time 173 years to aquire a set of individuals who have a unique genes, which would have given them powerful biotic abilities had they been in the present."

"Thats absurd! I thought the Illusive man was crazy, but time travel? That's impossible!"

"No Shepard, It's not. Cerberus have found away to reach back in time to point all six of these individuals to one place, and bring them to the future. They implant them with biotics genetically assigned to each one, that would make them powerful enough with the correct training to be a formidable opponent. Shepard if this data is correct they could destroy a ship in minutes and a fleet in a matter of hours."

"Right lets report this info in to the Admirals. Gather everyone in the holo room EDI."

"Yes Shepard"

I hope you like the first part! Let me know what you think, any feedback would be helpful, good or bad let me know! Special thanks go to I Give Headaches To Aspirin thank you! :D


	2. Chapter 2

"Commander Shepard we hear you have an update for us"

Shepard knew it was Admiral Hackett before he even seen him on the holo call as he entered the room due to the militarized tone that had came to the man for him many years of service.

"Yes Shepard some of the things were hearing are quite absurd"

Shepard was relieved to see Anderson since he was fighting the most devastating war anyone had to in 50,000 years,

"I have an update but i don't think you'll believe me"

There was a pause before Shepard carried on as he didn't believe himself what he was about to say"Cerberus thinks they have found a way to time travel".

After a couple of minutes silence to let the information sink in the conversation started again"What do Cerberus plan to do with this tech Shepard?" the question was asked by Hackett.

"Sir's with all due respect why are we even talking about this? I mean it's impossible!" EDI then replied before the 2 officers had a chance

"No Shepard as i have stated it is not impossible i have looked over the research many times and if their calculations are correct ,which they seem correct in theory, they will be able to pull the 6 targets from the past into our present"

"EDI what is the purpose for this experiment?" Anderson asked of the synthetic,

"It has been Cerberus' attempts to improve on the alliance L3 implants for a couple of years now and they had Shepards DNA when he was been revived by them, they studied and found an anomaly in his DNA they searched Earth trying to find individuals with the same kind of anomoly but then the Reapers attacked making it impossible to find anyone with the correct specifications on Earth the most probable planet to contain humans with the gene so they piled resources into finding others in the galaxy to no avail thats when the Illusive man started to think 'when' instead of 'where', thats when the scientists started researching the possibility of time travel"

"Does the research look authentic? I mean could he just have created this to keep our forces divided with this goose chase?"

"Admiral Anderson i believe that this threat should be taken seriously as they are about to use the device to bring the targets into our present"

The look on the Admirals faces said all that Shepard needed to know."EDI when and where is Cerberus going to attempt this?"

"The data we recovered from the research station informs that the attempt is going to be in the Exodus Cluster to begin in approximately... 2 hours".

Shepard was in deep thought and eventally asked of the android "Why 173 years and why do it at all?" The droid looked blank for a moment as if the question was a surprise and she didn't have an answer but then she replied

"The data suggests that even through history the gene has been present there were 6 documented people alive in that generation so the Illusive man has gone back to that point to bring them here equip them with unique biotics train them and unleash them on the alliance. And for his reasons behind doing this could be a number of factors you have personally raided several of his smaller operations costing him money and resourcs another possibility is that the Reapers have indoctrinated him and the Reapers want these to provide their unique genetic code there is not enough data to be 100% accurate"

"How does he plan to do this EDI?"

"As from what i can determine Ceberus plans to use Reaper technology in the form of a 'tractor beam' they have set the beam to seek out the 6 people with the gene to lock on to the people and then pull them through".

As much as he hated to admit this crazy idea he could see the Illusive man stopping at nothing to get what he wanted he could even see why the Reapers wanted them advandced tech to improve themselves if they managed to get hold of them. Remembering he was not alone he asked his crew what they made of all this.

Kaidan was the first to point out that they brought Shepard back to life after 2 years of been brain dead to which Garrus added "i guess the impossible is doable if you throw enough money at it"

Liara was troubled at the news, "Whats on your mind Liara?" Tali asked of the asari. "I was just thinking that this war has made scientific breakthroughs in all area's, not all of them should be acknoledged" Tali agreeded with Liara saying "I know the people Cerberus are targeting have done nothing but have a gene, the only reason the Illusive man wants them is to further his own gains with no thought or care to these people".

"What if they resist? What will happen to them?" asked Vega

"That won't be an issue for Cerberus, they plan to subdue them as they arrive then be fitted with the biotic plans which will include control chips so they won't have emotions or thoughts"

After EDI informed them of this there was a stunned silence in the room which was only broken by the 2 Admirals who had gained control of themselves first

"Shepard you have to go stop them, and you better step on it!"

Anderson informed them his voice was sounded urgent as if the war could hinder on these 6 people and who had their allegiance. Hackett was alot more formal with his orders

"Shepard you and your crew are to get to that station and disarm it, If you arrive too late to stop what Cerberus is doing ... destroy the base and everyone on it"

"Sir with all due respect if we arrive too late there will be 6 innocents on that station we have no idea of the circumstances if they died in our time"

"Shepard if any of those survive and get turned against us we are looking at complete annihilation destroy the base thats an order, Hackett out"

With that the video feed for Admiral Hackett went offline leaving Anderson thinking of a diffrent soloution, then Anderson did something that he never thought he would do

"Shepard i have another order that could maybe help both us and them, on your arrival to the station and your too late to stop Cerberus rescue the prisoners and we'll talk to them, tell them whats happening maybe just maybe they can help us in this war"

"Sir you know thats against regulations"Shepard reminded him

"To hell with regulations this war needs all the help we can get from every when and where we can find, i'll deal with Hackett if it comes to that"

Shepard was conflicted he had 2 diffrent orders with 2 very diffrent outcomes.

"Decide on the way Shepard, cause time is not something any of us have alot of right now, Anderson out".

Shepard was still conflicted when he raidoed Joker to head to the Exodus Cluster he needed some time to think on how to handle this.

Location: Illusive Man's Hideout (unknown)

"Whats our status on 'Redemption' Doctor?" the Illusive man asked as he lit his fourth cigarette since he started talking to the doctor 3 minutes ago.

"The project is ready to go ahead sir ... but we have some troubling news from one of our lab's. It seems Commander Shepard got a copy of most of our data and is on route to the project site to interfer with our efforts".

With this news the Illusive Man was furrious but remarkably calm as well

"Shepard he's always interferring in our plans, see to it he is unsuccessful and the project a success BEFORE Shepard arrives"

"Yes sir" the scientist picking up on his bosses bad mood quickly and made his excusses to mobilize security and stepped off the holopad.

"Shepard will be sorry the day he turned his back on me, and the Reapers will be mine soon i'll have the bait required then it's on to victory for all humans"

After saying this to himself he lit another cigarette returning to the monitors in front of him.

"Commander, we will be approaching the Exodus Cluster in 20 minutes"

Shepard replied with "Let me know when we are 10 minutes from arrival, Shepard out".

Shepard was still confused on which orders to follow so decided to leave it to see the circumstances and possible outcomes, Hacketts orders were simple if nothing could be done ... just blow it up but Andersons orders would bring an asset to the war and possibly avoid wiping out a possible major event these idividuals or their children could accomplish also he hoped they would agree to help against the Reapers but either way they must be saved.

"Sir we are about to hit coordinates provided by EDI".

"Alright Joker, were ready as we'll ever be"

A/N: Thanks for reading i hope your enjoying this (not) so short story please let me know your thoughts on the story so far what you think i can do diffrently etc i welcome all critisim :)


	3. Chapter 3

"Ok Commander, We are arriving in 3 ... 2 ... 1"

There was an audible gasp which made Shepard instantly curious

"Status report!" He barked to Joker over the intercom.

"Sir we have a Reaper on visual, it's not making any indication it has noticed us. I recommend we get the hell out of here Commander before it wakes up pissed!"

Shepard could tell he was thinking the same as Joker and begun issuing the order to jump to FTL and avoid a certain death by the Reaper.

"Alright Joker get us ..." He was interupted by Specialist Traynor before he could issue the order.

"Sir, i believe that this station is not a Reaper there aren't the correct frequency waves or no signs of Reaper forces detected in the vicinity, i believe that Cerberus only designed the facility to scar people to avoid guests."

"Are you sure Traynor?" The commander asked of the ever more confident communication's Specialist.

"Yes sir, Cerberus is trying to put out a identical wave pattern to a Reaper but it isn't perfect, this is defiently not a Reaper sir"

"Errr Commander, the Reaper station whatever is powering up and i'm talking about ALOT of power! I think they are going to do their master secret plan"

Just then a beam so bright no one could look directly at it was shot into a nearby wormhole, Shepard placed his helmet on and motioned for his team to do the same and with the added protection they could see where the beam hit the entrance to the wormhole that had white light coming from the center and swirls of light blue around the sides but as the beam hit the middle it fractured into 6 smaller beams. The 6 beams flared once before disintergrating into nothing as if nothing had happened except the wormhole that was light blue moments before had now turned an angry red colour.

"Sir i'm getting chatter from the base. They say operation 'Redemption' was a success and the targets are been split up for security reasons. They are to be kept in groups of 2 until transport has arrived which is ETA 15 minutes"

"OK we go in quick and quiet rescue the civilians and get out of there ASAP. We will split up once on board. Tali and Liara your with me,Kaidan, EDI and Garrus and Vega you'll hold the shuttle bay so we aren't cut off if we need to retreat quickly. I'll go for a group 1, Kaiden your team will pick up group 2 we'll rendezvous somewhere along the way then you'll bring the combined groups to the shuttle while our group goes for the last group then we get the hell out of there. Any objections?"

Everyone just nodded their agreement.

"Ok people lets go! Cerberus wants these civillians quite badly to manipulate time and space so lets go we protect them at all costs. Lets move!"

Inside the station a few moments ago:

Jake Thompson didn't know what hit him, 1 moment he was outside for his morning run then having to cover his eyes as if the sun had just shone right in his eyes and the next he's looking ouside what he could only describe as a pod with people pointing guns at him.

"Whats going on? Where am i?" He asked the guard infront. He didn't get an answer he just grabbed hold of his arm and threw him towards a door. He risked a quick look round and could see 5 other pods behind his but not who or what was in them and he was harshly pushed in the back with a barrel of a gun.

"Enough sight seeing, eye's forward now move!" The guard snarled at him.

All he could do was move forward towards the door he was forced to go to when he seen another guard bring a girl about 15 towards him.

"These 2 are to be kept together to reinforcements arrive to take them away"

The guards were discussing amoungst themselves so Jake decided to speak to the young girl to try reassure her it'll all be ok. They were made to walk through the door without looking back into a narrow corridor that after several feet turned to the left. All they could do for now was walk the way they were lead so Jake decided to talk to the young girl beside him he noticed she had light blonde hair and crystal blue eyes was about 5'3" tall and was visibly shaking.

"Hi i'm Jake nice to meet you, whats your name?"

"It's Emily, but everyone calls me Emi" Jake could tell by her voice she was scarred and upset with good reason to. They had been taken hostage with no explanation of where they are or why they were taken.

"Well Emi, we'll be alright i'm sure, i'll keep you safe" He could tell that it was working she went to squeeze his arm but she was forced back by 1 of the guards, Jake seen this as an advantage and threw a punch at the guard behind him which caught him directly on the chin and because the corridors were confined the guard hit his head on the wall with some force and was knocked unconscious. The second girl turned around and tried to fight back but Jake was quicker he dodged the gun that would have hit him on the forehead had he not crouched and seeking an oppertunity he punched the second guard in the ribs before punching him on his right temple while he was on the floor nursing his side. With both guards unconsious he grabbed the girl by the arm gently pulling her into a room that looked like a labratory. After makng sure no one else was following they decided to look around. While Jake was looking in the room for any information Emily was startled which drew Jake's attention.

"Whats the matter? Are you hurt?!" He quickly checked her over to see what was wrong with her but she was stunned into silence and all she could do was point out the window. What he seen shocked him to. From a morning jog to what if he was looking at wasn't a trick was deep space.

"How is this possible?!" Emily spoke after what seemed like hours of starring out the window to which all he could respond with was "I ... I don't know but we'll find out"

After he tried to reassured Emily they both seen a massive ship fly nearby with Normandy wrote across the front and seen it launch a shuttle that was heading directly for the base.

"That must be the troops the guards mentioned to take us away" Emily was starting to break down at the sight of the shuttle as it obviously was going to where it could land.

"Listen to me, they aren't going to take us. Not without a fight anyway so lets get moving before they start searching rooms for us" Emily just nodded but was still shaken but it was the right decision to keep moving.

As soon as they left the lab 2 guards were running towards them, Jake looked the other and seen there wasn't anyone coming.

"Quick, run i'll slow these guys down" He could see she was reluctant to leave "Go i'll be fine i'll catch up in a minute i promise"

With that she started to run down the corridor and around the corner to the right. The guards were close now and were panting after running the length of the corridor which was no small feat. They closed the remaining small gap 1 of the guards tried to swing his gun which he easily defended and he also kicked the other guard in the stomach making him double over before the guards could recover he took the gun and hit both of them with the butt of the gun. Jake could make out another 4 guards running around the corner the same way the 2 he dispatched came from so he set off at full speed the same way Emily went. After he rounded the corner he could make out she was been restrained by the arm and been pulled round a corner, Jake picked up the pace and as he rounded the corner he shouted "Emily duck... NOW!" With that she squatted to the floor as Jake kicked the guy square in the face knocking him out cold but instead of checking if she was ok he grabbed her by the arm pulling her along surprised she could keep pace they set off down the set of corridors not coming across another guard.

Shepards Team:

"Commander, we have safly made it back to the shuttle with the 4 civilians but we are running out of time ETA of Cerberus forces are in 4 minutes if you don't leave now we won't leave at all" Kaidan's said into his earpiece.

"Understood we have hacked into their security screens and are going to interact with them see if we can guide them to your location, Tali can you patch me into the stations intercom?" He asked the quarian beside him.

"Yes Shepard, I can do it from here" With that she pushed a few buttons "There the channels open".

"Ok, To the civilians running down the corridor can you hear me?"

"Don't respond Jake, They know where we are!"

"What do you want with us?!" Shepard heard the man's anger and fustration in his voice but he could understand that, been ripped from your home against your choice like he had to leave Earth not so long ago after the Reapers invaded.

"Believe me or not i'm here to help you but times running out before more of those guards arrive so listen to me i'll direct you to the shuttle bay where you'll be escourted safely and unhurt off this station"

"How do i know this isn't some trick? Lure us into a trap?"

"Look to be brutally honest with you we are here to help you can stay if you wish try hide but they WILL find you i can offer you a way off this station it's up to you if you take it".

A few moments went by before Jake nodded "OK we'll trust you, Where do we go?"

"Good choice right head 3 metres down the corridor your on then turn left carry on going til you hit the fork in the hallway then go right we'll meet you through that door which is the shuttle bay"

"We'll meet you there, quick Emily run those guys are coming again!"

With that Shepard made his team leave the security station and double timmed back towards the shuttle bay. When he arrived he set up Liara and Tali behind some crates while Shepard stood beside the entrance to the door way. After a minute some footsteps were heard coming from the corridor it was just the young girl Jake referred to as Emily. Shepard stepped forward but she started to scream and was crying.

"Calm down Ma'am, I'm here to help i'm the one who talked to you via the intercom are you ok? Where is the guy who was with you ... Jake?"

"We got jumped in a corridor at the fork in the hallway he made me run ahead so that i got to safety, Please you have to help him!"

"We will don't worry this is Liara and Tali they are friends of mine they will get you to the shuttle. Don't worry they will get you there unhurt"

It was the first time Emily had seen the alians and started screaming again.

"Emily calm down they are friends, I understand your scarred you have no idea whats going on and i'm sorry i don't have time right now to fill you in but i promise they won't hurt you and i'll get Jake and explain everything to you shortly. Now go with them they'll look after you."

The poor girl is all Shepard could think been taken from the a time before Alians were discovered and been forced to go along with them. His thoughts returned to Jake but before he could burst in to save the day another set of footsteps was coming down the hallway he retook his postion incase it was Cerberus troops coming for Emily. He aimed his gun just past the door frame but was shocked to see the same guy from the security footage.

"Jake? I'm Commander Shepard, Lets get you off this station and to safety".

"Did Emily make it?" He asked with concern and panting from the run he just had to do.

"Yes she's safe but we have to leave, more troops are about to arrive any minute" After saying that Jake could hear another person telling the Commander that the enemy had dropped out of FTL ... whatever that was.

"OK quick follow me to the shuttle once were back on the ship i can explain everything to all of you"

"All of us?" Jake asked of the Commander on the quick jog to where the shuttle was docked.

"Yeah we caught hold of some intell that told us that Cerberus ,the guys here, wanted 6 unique individuals but i'll explain later"

It took them a quick sprint to the shuttle and they flew out the main shuttle doors towards the ship called Normandy.

"When we arrive we'll fill you all in on whats happened not all of you will believe it but it's the truth, Joker ready our retreat we have the civ's prepare to jump to FTL"

"Roger Commander"

A/N: Thanks for reading i hope your enjoying this sorry my chapters are getting longer please let me know your thoughts on the story so far what you think i can do diffrently etc i welcome all critisim Hope your enjoying the story! :)


	4. Chapter 4

"... You expect us to believe you?" for the fifth time in an hour was said.

The guy called Tyler asked of Commander Shepard. Jake noticed that Tyler was 6'3" tall with short light brown hair with green eyes he was quite thin and clean shaved but had faint show of muscles that let you know he was stronger than what he looked. Jake wasn't paying attention to the arguments as farfetched as it sounded no one could pull off this kind of hoax and all 6 of the 'captured' people had no reason for this prank to continue as long as it did, especially since he got shot at.

So he drifted his eyes to look out the window but he caught his own reflection Jake was 5'8" tall with blue/grey eyes and dark brown hair he hadn't shaven for a few days so he had a little stubble around his chin but still he looked youthful for his age he also had a toned body after all the exercise he had been doing he then decided to look around the room again getting a glimpse of the others.

It told Jake he was the oldest with Tyler been 17, Emily 15 Jake was 24. The other 3 he couldn't quite tell exactly but he knew the others were about 16-22. Jake decided to take a closer look at the other 3 people that had kept to themselves out of shock mainly just nodding agreement to what Tyler was saying.

He then noticed that 2 of them were quite simular in appearance but they looked the same age so he just put them down as twin girls who he had heard were called Julia and Charleigh both had dark blonde hair and light blue eyes that closly resembled Shepards they were fairly small about 5'3" . The other guy was clearly smart he just let off an aura of intelligence he had Light blond hair and hazel brown eyes he didn't know his name cause he kept to himself.

After Tyler had finished another little rant he was then brought back to reality when Shepard, who was getting quite annoyed at having to repeat himself to the stubborn of youths, asked someone called EDI to enter the room.

"You wanted to see me Shepard?" EDI asked of the Commander a woman came in with shoulder length black hair who was quite attractive to the right kind of guy.

"Yes thank you EDI can you please tell and show these people your true form please?"

"Ofcourse Commander" When the transformation had been completed she went on to say "I am EDI ,Enhanced Defense Intelligence, an AI designed for this very ship you are currently residing on".

"An AI as in ... Artifical Intelligence?" Jake looked over where the question had come from and found it was the guy who hadn't really said a word until now.

"Sorry my names Dan, but what you are saying ,if true, is not possible from our time"

"That is correct ... Dan, i was built and designed by Ceberus for almost a decade spanning from 2175-2184"

The room was silent as this new information had sunk in to which Dan could only respond with after a minute was "Intresting".

Tyler was getting ready to start another argument but Joker cut him off.

"Commander, i have Admiral's Anderson and Hackett on the holo-com for you"

"Thank you Joker tell them i'll be right there ... how about you 6 join me and we'll pick up this little debate another time"

With that the Commander left the room while the 6 just sat there stunned Jake looked around at them and was the first to stand up and with a jog caught up to Shepard.

"I thought you'd be the more reasonable 1 of the group" he said to Jake without turning round. Jake fell in step just behind Shepard.

"They are kids afterall, hell even i'm not that old this is quite unbelievable, but i can see your telling the truth the others are in shock you hit them hard and fast with too much information time travel, biotic powers, AI's and Earths getting decimated it is alot to take in over a short period of time"

"Your right i'm sorry but time isn't something we have alot of right now i'm trying to find ways to help win this war and i can't do that while i'm babysitting"

"I'm not saying you had alot of options i'm just telling you that if you got transported 180 years into the future and hit with all this, would you belive it?"

All Shepard did was smile and say "I guess not".

They walked into the 'Holo room' as Joker had said over the intercom but the room was empty.

"Where's the screens?" Jake asked of Shepard.

"We don't use them we use something alittle more ... advandced"

With that a man with blue eyes and white hair seemed to step out of nowhere taking Jake by surprise. Jake also noticed he had a scar on his face probably from a recent fight he thought.

"Commander i gave you orders and you disobeyed them, I told you to destroy that base no matter the cost yet you assulted that base which could have cost us that ship"

"That was something Shepard had left out" Jake thought to himself.

"I had diffrent orders Admiral"

"On who's authority?!"

"Mine Steven" Just then another person stepped onto the pad who Jake took to be Admiral Anderson.

"That was a very risky move David i hope you know what your doing" was all Hackett had said before he disapeared again.

"You did the right thing Shepard, saving those Civilians was the right decision have you told them whats been happening?"

"Yes Anderson, I have informed them all of whats been going on and what's at stake"

"And? Whats their decision?"

"Excuse me?" Jake interupted "Sorry my names Jake Thompson, What are you exactly asking from us?"

"Shepard i didn't expect 1 of them to be listening in on our call"

"Sorry Admiral, i thought it was for the best as they still don't believe us of whats happening"

"I see, well Mr Thompson as the Commander has alread told you we are at war he was under my orders to rescue and extract you and the others so we can ask for your help in the battle for humanity"

"Wait, wait, wait ... you want to implant us with your biotic tech?" Jake asked a bit forcefully then he intended but it got his point across "I suppose you'll force us into it if we say no"

"We won't do that, we aren't Cerberus this is your choice we won't influence your choice especially this" Anderson replied quite calmly after he had nearly been shouted at.

Jake relaxed at this and breathed out in relief "Good, Shepard i take it you have crew quarters or some place to crash if you tell me where i'll get the others a place to sleep so we have time to talk and discuss ... all this"

"Sure Crew quarters is on 3rd deck i'll have Kaidan Alenko show you where you can set up"

"Thank with that he turned and left the Com romm.

"Commander i need you to visit Anhur in the Amun System to pick up supplies we'll inform you when you have the supplies and Commander try and get those people on our side i think we'll need them in this war"

"Yes Sir Shepard out, Joker set a course for Anhur in the Amun System"

"Yes Commander"


	5. Chapter 5

As Jake left the comm room he felt light headed and was leaning over a console to steady himself he closed his eyes and took shallow breaths to try calm himself. With what he just over heard and had experienced it was starting to over welm him.

"Are you alright?" Jake heard a musky canadian accent from his left.

"I'm fine" he replied "just it's all catch..." He stopped sharply as he opened his eyes and looked the guy full in the face. Shock was written all over Jakes face and he was lost for words momentarily before continuing "Catching up to me".

"You look pale would you like to sit down while i gather the others and i'll show you all to your quarters... Would you like some water?"

Jake was transfixed "Sorry ... your Major Alenko... erm you remind me of someone i knew ... along time ago. I'll be fine i'll find the way on my own thanks"

"Are you sure it's no trouble for me to swing back and pick you up?"

"Thanks all the same but i can manage" He replied quite quickly Kaidan took a step back at how short Jake had said it to him which made Jake feel sorry for the poor guy who was just trying to be helpful but seeing Kaidan with his Chocolate brown eyes and his black hair just made him remember someone that was too painful and he thought he came to terms with it or atleast burried it but it proved as raw as ever. Jake quickly left the War Room he was stood in and quickly went to the elevator where he closed the doors and stopped it 1/2 way where he just put his back on the elevator and slowly slid down til he was crouched alone and he began to cry.

After Jake picked himself off the floor and was himself again he went in search of where he'll be living for the moment. He got turned around a few times before Emi came and found him.

"Jake!, Where have you been we are down here" Jake could tell she was relieved to see him.

"How's our rooms?" He asked her. "They aren't exactly 5 star luxury but it's sleepable anyway" She replied "The others have been waiting for you for awhile Shepard told us you had something that he thought would best come from you".

"Yeah well be prepared this is gonna sound crazy..." With that sentance he entered the room where the others were sitting there were 3 sets of bunks as Jake was the last 1 in he got the last bed that was 1 of them on the bottom. As Jake and Emi entered the room Tyler was leaning with 1 foot against a wall with his arms crossed looking at the floor the twins were on opposite sides of the room doing everything they could to avoid even a glimpse of the other while Dan was looking at something on a pad that held some sort of information which Jake couldn't see.

"Finally he arrives!" Jake instantly knew the voice belonged to Tyler. "Sorry if i knew you were waiting for me i'd have been here sooner" Jake was now aware that all eyes were on him as they were waiting for him to speak.

"Right, well what is it exactly these guys want from us?" Tyler asked quite abruptly thinking he took to long to start. Jake was already trying not to dislike the guy he was been abnoxious and bossy like he was in charge which just grated on his nerves.

"Ok, they want us to get the implants!"

He shot back at the kid that was quite close to getting hit. After he had said it he was aware that he was quite forceful as even Tyler was shocked into silence.

"They want us to get the implants..." he repeated alot calmer ".. to help out with the war they have going on in this place, time whatever"

There was a stunned silence from everyone but Tyler ,as Jake knew he would, started protesting but before he got any further into his arguments Jake cut him off with agreeing with him, which shocked Tyler so much that since he had nothing left to say climbed into his bed and laid down ... quietly to everyones surprise.

After they had a chance to catch up on some sleep Shepard came down to see how his new crew members were. Shepard had designated a room big enough for the 3 bunks and a table with 6 chairs so they could get to know each other alittle better and so they have a little sanctum of their own when they needed it. He knocked on the door and entered all 6 were in the room with only silence to fill the air.

"We will shortly be arriving at our destination for supplies, it's a peaceful world and my team suggests that it might help you to get some air and see the sights while you can"

The 6 were staring at each other but they soon turned their gaze to Jake with a question in their eyes that said "should we?" So the decision was left up to him.

"Thank you Commander, We might just do that. How long til we arrive?"

"We should be there in 15 minutes meet me on Deck 5 we'll escourt you into the compound and you can go from there". With that Shepard left the room and it fell back into silence again.

In the cargo bay...

"... and finally don't insult the locals. Got it?!"

Jake and the others had just been instructed on the do's and don'ts while planetside and the ship came into dock. They all nodded briefly as the ship landed on the platform.

"Remember if you get into trouble you get back ASAP, I'm trusting you all to behave yourselves. We'll escourt you in then your on your own you have 2 hours so please don't make us track you down"

After Shepard had finished laying down the rules they all made their way to the village luckly to Jakes releif Kaidan was not in the group heading to pick up supplies, Shepard was with Vega and Liara if he remembered her name correctly.

The sky was blue with a couple of clouds spotted here and there but it was warm that they were comfortable in their new off duty clothes that Shepard had supplied them with.

Soon after they got to the point where they split up into 2 sets of 3. Jake decided to go with Dan and Julia. While Charleigh had pulled Emi off to look at some clothes and with Tyler close behind.

They went for atleast 10 minutes without talking before Jake, whorealised that the 6 of them needed to communicate if they were going to keep some of their sanity so he struck up conversation with the 2 people with him.

They were walking down a bustling street with shops on both sides that closly resembled a market back on Earth as they weave in and out of shops stopping on the odd occasion to look at the merchandise to see what was on offer but nothing caught their eyes.

"So Dan your an Engineer?You look quite young to be an engineer what type of work did you do?" Dan not use to social situations ignored the question at first not been used to been talked to and was quietly spoken but soon after he became more confident.

"I'm a uni student at Oxford studying Engineering i'm 19, My father was an engineer himself who introduced me and taught me all i knew. I dabble in all sorts Electrical, Aeronautical, Mechanical my teachers just said i had a natural gift with tech it's what i'm mainly good at"

"Wow you must be really smart!" Julia must have been listening in on the conversation and was starting to join in. Jake noticed that the comment had made Dan blush and he became shy at the remark so to keep the bonding going Jake jurned to Julia.

"What about you Julia? Whats your story?"

"Well lets see i'm just an average student still in school in my finaly years studying Biology, Chemistry and Maths. I live in Cambridge with my mother who works 2 jobs just so i can go to University to study to be a doctor"

"So i'm with an Engineer and a Doctor well don't i feel out of place!"

"What do you do? Or did? It's confusing..." Dan asked as they continued to stroll down the path looking at other stalls as they went.

"I was lucky really ... i won the lottery about £80 Million i was living with my partner in London i worked as a furniture salesman for 8 years my school record ... isn't that great" He winced at the last part.

They came to the end of the road which lead onto large plains of grass where they stood and watched what seemed like 200 children play while adults sat and had picnics BBQ's under the shady of what looked like Oak trees.

They made their way down to get a closer look and Human, Asari and Turian children all came running over as to greet the new people that had arrived. They soon started flying kites and having a laugh with the children and adults as they were treated like 1 of their own. After 20 minutes the other 3 arrived and sat down and were also joining in on the conversation and everyone was having a good time.

And in a life changing moment the peace was shattered.

From above came an awful noise and fire was raining out the sky everyone started panicing and scraming thats when the first red laser came and it cut a path across the plain. Thats when everyone started to make a run for the spaceport. What looked like the creatures that Shepard had briefly described was in no way close to seeing it in person.

As people flew past the group who could only stare at the devistation that now lay before them they were shook to their senses when a group of children between the ages of 7-9 were been attacked by what Shepard refred to as husks. Not hesitating any longer he Jake shot forward thinking he was alone was relieved to find all the other 5 were beside him Jake, Tyler and Charleigh attacked the husks while Julia, Dan and Emi picked up the kids and they made a dash for the Normandy.

At the space port Shepard was anxiously looking for his new found crew since he was closest to the Normandy he immdiently began evacuation. He was about to send a team out when he seen all 6 together carrying 3 small children while the others kept the husks back with makeshift weapons. They soon boarded the Normandy and when they were sure no one else was going to make it Joker took off and avoided some Reaper fire and jumped to FTL before it could damage the ship.

Looking around the cargo hold it was shocking to see that only 1/8th of the colony had made it out alive. Jake was just staring at the survivers just thinking of what had happened.

"We have to go back!" he heard Emi shout at Commander Shepard who was walking away "We can't leave them behind!". Commander Shepard turned around and told her quite plainly "We can't go back who ever is alive is now indoctrinated and is a huge risk to us and that Reaper would destroy this ship with us and them on it i'm sorry ... but we can't go back"

With that he left in the elevator while Emi began to cry Jake was going to go comfort her but to his surprise Tyler was there first hugging her which made Jake think twice about Tyler mabe he wasn't as self centred as he first believed.

After Jake had checked on the kids that he help save he went to the elevator after 1 look around the cargo hold seeing no smiles or laughter as he did just an hour ago he decided on something drastic and he needed the others on board as well on the way to the groups quarters he was making arguments of why he was doing this why the others should join in and was even going to put Tyler in his place. As he arrived and looked at each member in turn he realised his arguments weren't needed each of them were thinking the same as him he asked the question just to make sure everyone was on the same page "Everyone agreeded?" They all had steel gazes and nodded with confidence as they knew what had to be done.

"Ok i'll let Shepard know" With that he turned and left the room on the way to the elevator he asked EDI where SHepard was and was told he was on Deck 2 at the galaxy map.

As Jake stepped off the elevator he noticed that all the original crew were there Liara, Garrus, Vega and Kaidan.

"I'm not interupting anything am i?" Jake asked mid step.

"We are trying to figure out our next move. What can i help you with Jake?"

"Well we have been thinking about the colony and how helpless we were when it was attacked ... and we have decided to under go the biotic implant treatment".

"Are you all 100% sure on this?" Shepard asked with genuine concern in his voice.

"We are. We want to help so what happened on that planet doesn't happen again"

"Alright Jake but first get some sleep, all of you get some sleep meet Dr. Chakwas in the Med bay with Liara the 2 of them will answer any questions you have on the procedure or the implants themselves but we'll save that for tomorrow go rest"

"Thank you Commander and good night" with that Jake turned and went back into the elevator and headed back to his room.

"You think these kids are going to be much help?" Kaidan asked Shepard.

"I don't know Kaidan, but they are willing to try and everything we can get right now will make the diffrence"


	6. Chapter 6

Jake was having a peaceful dream. The sky was blue the grass was green tree's providing shade from the warm sun and bristling in the light breeze there was a lake not to far away with adults with children playing. Then in an instant it became a nightmare. Everything was on fire. There was no blue sky it was now burnt orange the tree's uprooted and now lifeless and just barren wasteland where the grass was a moment ago. Looking round in disbelief at the sudden change of the land around him when he noticed movement from a building that was now in ruins.

"Is anyone there?" he asked his voice giving away that he was frightened. No one responded but there was defiently movement somewhere in the ruins. Thinking someone might be trapped he got closer repeating what he said and thats when he saw it. A husk. It looked human in size but nothing said human at what was looking at him. He took a step back while turning on his heel to run away, as far away in the opposite direction as he could. When he turned it made him stop in his tracks. From every direction around him was an army of husks. There was nowhere to run. No where to hide he was completly surrounded. He looked slowly round the circle of husks now around him looking for away through but there wasn't 1. After he looked around his eyes fell on the husk that was now walking towards him. Filled with fear he was rooted to the spot unable to move or even scream for help not that anyone would be able to. The husk was now standing in front of him now eyes glowing a icy blue staring at him then it was gone along with the others and thats when the Reaper came out of the sky making that screaming that made it sound like it was coming from your own head. Jake sunk to the floor trying in vain to cover his ears. Then he noticed that the Reaper was now glowing red and it shot a laser aiming towards him about 30 meters away moving towards him. Jake tried to move but the pain in his head prevented any movement and thats when it hit him and thats when he woke up.

Jake sprang up to sitting on his bed where he was sleeping just a moment ago. He could feel the cold sweat as he was gasping for air like he had just resurfaced after been under water too long. After he calmed his breathing again Jake looked around the room he could see the others were either awake after having a nightmare or in the middle of having 1. Deciding to get up he sat at the table where Charleigh and Dan were. Dan was reading another pad with information he either wanted to know or just something to take his mind off what he dreamt about.

"What time is it?" Jake asked either of them. "It's just gone quater past 3AM" Charleigh offered snapping out of her daydream that was probably just as bad as dreaming itself.

"Where is Emi and Tyler?" after he realised that they weren't in their beds.

"Emi was quite upset, She needed to walk it off and Tyler decided to go with her to keep her company" it was Dan that spoke this time not looking up from his data pad. That only left Julia that was thrashing around on her bed.

"Should we wake her?" Jake asked. "Leave her" came the response from Charleigh, Jake couldn't tell if she said it to be protective or nasty but it wasn't needed to wake her cause she woke startled like Jake was just 5 minutes ago.

"Are you alright Julia?" Dan asked now looking up from his pad. "I'll be fine ... i think, just need to shake off that nightmare" she sat still gaining her breath back after it returned to normal she shook her head once then climbed out of her bed and sat down on the end of the table and looked the other way from Charleigh. Jake silently thought if this was his buisness to make them get along but decided against it. It wasn't his place and it didn't effect him for the moment.

"Jake it's time to go" with a little jump he woke up. Without realising til now he had fallen asleep on the table. Looking up he seen Liara looking at him with concern in her eyes. "Sorry had a rough night last night" was the only response he could give.

"Thats understandable, we can put the procedure off for another day if it would help" Liara kindly offered. "No, no need for that lets get this done" Jake quickly followed looking at the room as he left notcing he was the last to leave.

After following Liara to the med bay explains what will happen. After the detailed explnation and assurance nothing will go wrong they decide to all be knocked out together so no one sees the others getting the implants. Before the sedative kicked in Jake looked around at the others and was glad to know he wasn't the only 1 nervous about getting the implants 1 by 1 they all fell asleep before finally his eye lids became heavy and he soon joined them.

Jake groaned silently as he stirred he opened his eyes to try remember where he was. He looked around the dimly lit room knowing it must be nighttime but that didn't sit right when your on a space ship so he decided to call it sleep time which sounded stupid to even think the sedative was still in his system making him groggy but he still pulled himself up. Realising what he was trying to do came over and was trying to explain it's not time yet that he still needed rest. Jake couldn't really focus on what she was saying but got an idea of what she meant so he fell back into sleep glad that was looking after him.

The next time he woke up he was alert looking over to the others he realised he was the first to wake up. was by her desk reading her notes. Wondering if she got any sleep at all he noticed he was thirsty. He tried to speak but his throat was so dry he looked for water or anything to quench his thirst. Looking around the med bay he spotted a clear plastic cup with what looked like water in it ready for him. Jake was thinking of how he needed it he stared at it from his bed but before he could get up to get the drink, the drink came to him, but not the way he intended. He was going to crawl out of bed if need be but after he thought about it the cup of water lifted up and shot towards him. He just caught the cup in his hand but not before the water hit him full in the face. must have seen this as she was laughing loudly. She came over to Jake with a fresh cup still chuckling Jake wasn't sure if she was chuckling at the water flying at him or the dumb founded face he clearly was wearing. The others woke up not soon after but they were handed the water which made Jake feel cheated alittle that he had to get his own.

After all of them were awake sent an intercomm messasge to tell them it was a success and that we had regained consciousness.

"Great work Doc, I'll be down as soon as i can" he replied.

After what seemed like an hour Shepard came into the med bay asking us how we were. All we could really say at this point was "fine". Shepard asked a few medical questions but she seemed quite happy with how the procedure went and reported us fit for duty in a day or 2.

"Ok, the good doc here tells me your all in perfect health but has asked i hold off on the training for a day or 2. I'm going to agree with her so get your rest we will be training you in the 3 area's of biotics and we are lucky to have 1 teacher specialized in each. Telekinesis will be taught to you by Liara, Spatial Distortion will be done by Samara and finally Kinetic Fields and Barriers will be taught by the best Kaidan Alenko. So long weeks ahead of you. Hope you sleep well." He turned and left the room leaving Jake think that he would have to take lessons off Kaidan the 1 person that brought back painful memories for him and now 1 of the 3 people he had to be forced into spending time with making him start to regret his choice of the implants, he quickly threw that away when the memory came of the people he couldn't help save and he knew he made the right choice.

"Right well it's time to get some more sleep" started to say the others started to object saying they were fine but Jake was thinking of how he could get through this he was willing to try but he needed a back up plan his thoughts were interupted when gave them all more seditive and he fell asleep half way through his plans while he heard her say "Doctors orders" he was fading fast the medication taking over.

"I'll have to think about this when i wake up" as he fell into a deep untroubled sleep.

A/N Sorry it took so long for an update i've had a few things going on so sorry! Let me know if you like the story or if there is anything i should change all critisism is taken as constructive :) Thanks for reading and stay tunned!


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